


Lady Jade Summers and the Heartstone of Rome

by lazaefair



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, F/F, Steampunk, xena levels of historical accuracy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-30 01:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19031839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazaefair/pseuds/lazaefair
Summary: “Keep flirting with me like that and you’ll be in imminent danger of breaking your order’s vows,” Jade said dryly, with a twist to her red lacquered lips. “Get on with it, please?”Valentina snickered. “As my lady wishes.”A little femslash confection written for the 2013 Valentine's Day Challenge by Steampunk.com.





	Lady Jade Summers and the Heartstone of Rome

Silence, broken by the awkward ticks of grandfather clock filling the small, austere room.

Finally, “Oh, for heaven’s sake. This is going too far.”

A replying sniff. “Nevertheless, I have spoken only of incontestable fact.”

Lady Jade crossed her arms. Leather creaked, loudly.

“And you needn’t cross your arms at me like that,” Valentina said.

“Convince me,” Jade said. She irritably flicked a lock of black hair over her shoulder.

Valentina heaved a sigh. “Very well.” The fair-haired young woman, with a petulant expression that rather spoiled her cherubic countenance, turned and lifted a small iron-bound casket from the bare shelf behind her. “I was instructed to reveal this only in the event that our presentation, _irrefutable though it may be,_ was insufficient in your sharp, though lovely, eyes.”

“Keep flirting with me like that and you’ll be in imminent danger of breaking your order’s vows,” Jade said dryly, with a twist to her red lacquered lips. “Get on with it, please?”

Valentina snickered. “As my lady wishes.” She produced a key and unlocked the casket. The interior was of faded velvet and the contents resembled nothing so much as brown, dry leaves. Jade raised an eyebrow as Valentina pulled a pair of silk gloves from her novice’s habit and lifted the parchment scraps out as if they were the crown jewels of England. 

The eyebrow came down as soon as she realized what was written on the leaves. “No,” she breathed.

“Oh, yes,” Valentina said, only a trifle smug.

“The Claudius Codex,” Jade said. “May I—” Valentina slapped her hands away and gave her a pointed look. Jade rolled her eyes and pulled on her own gloves. She spent a long time examining the leaves.

“Oh,” she said.

“Incredible,” she muttered.

“I must set out at once,” she exclaimed, and would have whirled around to leave the convent immediately if Valentina had not laid a restraining hand on her shoulder.

“What requirements do you need now?” Jade said, twisting around and shaking the hand off. Valentina clucked in her best Mother Matron style, but could not hide the eager sparkle in her eyes.

“Only this,” Valentina said. “I’m coming with you.”

_—36 hours and one costume change later—_

“Tell me,” Jade said, landing in the sewer with a squelching splash that didn’t bear thinking of. _“Why_ exactly did you want to come along again?” She whirled as best as she could in the ankle-deep mud, giving silent thanks to the makers of sturdy boots, and fired warning shots at the shouting minions charging around the corner.

“Oh, nothing much. Adventure,” Valentina said, hefting the Burleigh & Smith Mk. II Flamethrower (“Dispatching your enemies in Biblical style!”) with intriguing ease. It spat fire at the minions charging around the opposite corner. “The chance to recover a priceless relic for history.” The minions loosed a hail of arrows at them. Everyone ducked. “Glory for the order and St. Valentine.” She put her back to Jade’s and between the two of them, they made short work of the insane, murderous resurrected Roman Emperor’s footsoldiers. At least for the next five minutes. 

In the ensuing quiet, their frantic reloading clacked loud in the stone tunnelway. Jade felt for the purloined heartstone, tucked safely in its makeshift bag. It pulsed, disturbingly, and she made a face. 

Then she looked up.

Valentina’s grin was wild. “And you.” She licked her lips. Jade opened her mouth to say...something, she didn’t know what—

_“IBI SUNT!”_ More minions charged around the corner, screaming in dead languages. _“OCCIDITE EOS!”_

Jade sighed. “Hold that thought.” 

By unspoken agreement, they practiced the better part of valor and ran like hell.

_—23 minutes later—_

“Well, that’s that, I suppose.”

“Yes,” Jade said. The Basilica of Santa Maria would never be the same, but on the other hand, the insane, murderous resurrected Roman Emperor had failed to get his hands on the priceless Amoris Potestate, which had been safely returned to Valentina’s order, and the aforementioned Emperor had been sent back to his unquiet rest at the bottom of the river. “I don’t envy your people the clean-up.” 

Valentina groaned. “Please, refrain from reminding me, I beg you.”

“If I recall correctly, you were ready to beg for something quite different,” Jade said, and smirked at the flood of heat in Valentina’s eyes. “But,” she added, as her conscience prodded at her, “I wouldn’t want to tempt you to break your vows—”

“The vows.” Valentina set the flamethrower down on a ruined pew. “My Mother Superior always likes to say, ‘she who abides by the rules too often and too long, is one who is no fun to be around.’” 

“Oh,” Jade said.

“Yes.” Valentina swayed forward and wrapped her hands around Jade’s hips. “What are you thinking so hard about, my lady?”

“I was thinking perhaps the proprietor of the St. Regis Grand could be bribed to overlook particular goings-on in my hotel room tonight.”

For all her air of confident seduction, Valentina couldn’t hide the catch in her breath. “Then what are we waiting for?”

“Nothing.” Jade said, and smiled. “I suppose it is Valentine’s Day, after all.”


End file.
